page_title: 2013 Pittsburgh mayoral election
section_title: Early developments
hierarchical_section_title: 2013 Pittsburgh mayoral election / Democratic primary / Early developments
caption_attribution_description: English: Luke Ravenstahl at AFLCIO 2009 conference
context_page_description: The 2013 Pittsburgh mayoral election took place on November 5, 2013. Democrat Bill Peduto was elected the 60th Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The primary election was held on May 21, 2013. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, although eligible for a second full term, did not seek reelection as Mayor of Pittsburgh.
  Initially, Luke Ravenstahl had indicated an intention to seek reelection in the 2013 election and had led early Democratic primary polling. Following Ravenstahl's withdrawal in early March 2013, several candidates not previously considering a campaign joined the race and others became speculated candidates. As of the primary election petition filing deadline on March 12, 2013, seven Democratic candidates and one Republican candidate, Joshua Wander, had filed to run. One Democratic candidate, Bill Robinson, stated he would run despite missing the petition deadline. After the field settled, there were four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination who were listed on the ballot and one seeking the Republican nomination. In addition, the sole Republican candidate also expressed an intention to run for the Democratic nomination as a write-in candidate.
context_section_description: Several candidates expressed interest in running in the May 21, 2013, Democratic primary election. Incumbent Luke Ravenstahl officially announced in November 2012 that he would seek re-election to a second full term. In addition, Bill Peduto, who had run for Mayor of Pittsburgh in 2005 (losing in the primary to fellow Democratic City Councilman and eventual winner Bob O'Connor) and again for a short time in the 2007 special election before dropping out prior to the primary, announced his candidacy in December 2012 and was immediately endorsed by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. City Controller Michael Lamb, who stated that he had "every intention" of running for mayor, declared his candidacy in mid-January 2013. Jack Wagner, former Auditor General of Pennsylvania, also publicly expressed interest in the race and filed a petition to run in March. Wagner also reportedly considered an independent general election campaign.
  Polling conducted between late December 2012 to mid-January 2013 by Civic Science found that a race between Luke Ravenstahl and Bill Peduto would be within single digit percentage points. The polling firm, however, emphasized that the poll was not intended to provide two-way race numbers and that the polling (which was completed on January 16) did not include Michael Lamb, who had entered the race the next day. According to the poll, blue-collar primary voters were more apt to support Ravenstahl while white-collar primary voters were more apt to support Peduto.
  On March 1, 2013, Ravenstahl announced that he would not seek reelection, reversing a prior decision to run for another term. The announcement came amid an investigation of fund use at the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, although Ravenstahl did not make any indication that this had contributed to his decision to withdraw. In addition, Ravenstahl alluded in his announcement to the medical condition of his mother, who had been suffering "medical issues," but did not indicate that this had contributed to the decision either. Ravenstahl stated that he would serve out the remainder of his term, ending in January 2014. Shortly thereafter, City Council President Darlene Harris confirmed her intention to run. In addition, Jake Wheatley, Jim Ferlo, and Ricky Burgess became speculated candidates.
caption: Mayor Luke Ravenstahl initially announced that he would run for re-election, but later reversed his decision.
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